The Voynich’s manuscriptvoynich.free.fr/Bulletin_ARCSI_AntoineCASANOVA... · The Voynich’s...

The Voynich’s manuscriptReading an elegant enigma

Antoine Casanova

We know that certainty is out of the question in deciphering the manuscript. Buton the other hand, the convergence towards the solution naturally accommodatessuccessive approximations. For example, and to resume folio 116v, whether the letter"o" is the abbreviation of "omnis" or "omnen", or that "la" is of "littera" or "litteram",do not change the inescapable convergence of "oladabas" into the abbreviated Latinsolution “omnem litteram dabas”. Is this the solution of this enigma, as suggested by theauthor of folio f116v? In the bulletin ARCSI 2017, we detected that what appeared to usto be Voynich's words were to be considered as propositions of words associating theLatin abbreviations and codes. The effort since then has focused on the reconstructionof the coding table and on the modus operandi of the elaboration of the sentences inorder to solve the Voynich’s enigma.

Our first results, submitted to latinists, confirm that in addition to the fact that thesentences cannot be fully translated thanks to a simple dictionary of the classical Latin,this text seems "to be in Latin very late marked by regional structures"; major cluesince corresponding to the period of the 15th century during which the manuscript waswritten.

Indeed, in the 15th century is born1 the “latinus grossus,” a language of exchangemixing the Latin of the elite and the "vulgar" language (Italian, Provencal, French)which allows people more or less educated to communicate. This state of linguisticimpregnation is found in the urban bureaucracy, in the legal area and in the university.

However, what is the share of the "classical" Latin and that of the "vulgar" Latin presentin the manuscript? Are we able to identify the origin of this manuscript and thus deducethe regional features? The question cannot be fully answered in this article. However,some clues are beginning to emerge, both on the question of the grammar used, on itstheme and on its regional origin.

1 Macaronea, TIFI ODASI, Padoue, 1450-1492. But also in 1534, François Rabelais wrote the harangueof master Janotus Bragmardo in Gargantua to recover the bells of Paris, in Latinus grossus(Gargantua, Chapter 19)

SOURCE - TRANSLATED FROM THE “BULLETIN DE L’ARCSI – N°45 DÉCEMBRE 2018” 89

Coding Systems

The author of the manuscript uses a system of letter coding conjugated to a phoneticsystem. These two systems inherit the techniques conventionally used in the abbreviatedwriting of the Latin.

Coding of the Letters

The large letters D F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 are used to encode a word in its entirety or only a subset

of it. For example, the letter S alone can mean “circum” and also play the role of a

radical in “circumcisus.” The letter P, meanwhile, will only mean “per” and may also

be a suffix in “opere.” In a general way, the letters D F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 are used in the

manuscript as words, radicals, prefixes and suffixes.

Phonetic of the Letters

Voynich's letters have the ability to represent phonemes. We discovered it by trying to

solve OD as a form of syllogism "omnis talis" because by exploring other possible

combinations between O and D, remained without result, it appeared the hypothesis that

O could be a "sound" and not a letter constraining the spelling of the word. The letter Ocould then be phonetically representative of "o, au, ho.” From this opening was born afield of possibilities allowing considering a solution to combine a system ofabbreviation, kind of coding method (a letter for a Latin word) and a phonetic system,based on poly-substitution method, because proposing several letters or a group of

letters for the same phoneme. Also, in the specific case of the assembling of the letter O

and the letter D in OD, the search for a word, in medieval Latin, containing a phoneme

[o] previous [talis], gave the following words:

[o*talis*] → occidentalis, orientalis.

[au*talis*] → augmentalis, Augustalis, auspicalis.

[ho*talis*] → holosericalis, horizontalis, hospitalis, hospitalissimus

The most favorable cases, among these results (low Hamming distance, adequacy withthe least Zipf effort and to a certain extent the adequacy with the "context") being here"auspicalis" for "divinatory" and "hospitalis2" for "a guest, hospital.”

2 In this case the [h] would be absent from the Voynich’s alphabet.


Similarly, in the case of the letter 8, a questioning of the phonetic value of this letter

was imposed. Indeed, the use of the 8 for the sound [d] is common in abbreviated Latin,

the word 8AN in "damnum" confirmed this deduction. However, the repercussion of [d]

in Voynich's other words showed that Zipf's law was no longer respected (resulting in"rare" words) and that the high Hamming distance implied to admit many letters as

variables in the word. It was necessary to revisit the phoneme of the letter 8 and by

indirect effect those with which it was associated (8AN 8G, F H P S 2 , etc.) It is by listing the

Voynich’s words containing: the letter 8 and one unknown letter, then by searching

their patterns in medieval Latin word lists that the letter 8 proved to be more favorably

the phoneme [s]. According to the same process, the confrontation of the words OH EH, F H P S 2 ,

HG allowed us to identify H as the phoneme [vis] and CC8G the word "quoquoversus".

Similarly, the letter E turns out to be the letter of the abbreviated Latin and

corresponds to the phonemes [l] and [le].

Phonetic Depending on the Position

In an abbreviated Latin system, the phonetic behavior of letters may vary depending onthe position of the letter into the word. For example, as in an abbreviation system from

“classical” Latin, the Voynich's G will mean "us" at the ending and "con, com" at the

beginning of a word.

This type of behavior must be studied in depth on the letters of the manuscript in order,for example, to identify the letters associated with the phonemes [b], [d], [f], [g] and [n]which are currently missing from the coding table.

Rare Letters

The Latin alphabet consists of 26 letters. The letters "k, u, y, z, x" are rarely used.Indeed, the letters "k, y, z" are found in words having a Greek origin. However, since

the letter "k" can be obtained with the letter C and the letter "x,” whose sound is [ks],

can be obtained by assembling the letter C and the letter 8 to form the [ks], it is very

likely that only the following rare letters will remain to be identified: "u, y, z.”


Coding TableFSG3 Latin Phoneme S.M.E4 Use

A ă / ā [a] brief / long sme AR are

C k, c t q/quo/que/qua

[k] strong[t][k/kwo/kwe/kwa]

sme s

sme

CC8G quoquoversus

CG tus

D talis,tis [talis/tis] me D talis, tis (at the end)

E l, le [l] short [le] long sme AEG alus, OEO oleo, OE ole, AE ale

F pro [pro,e,a,ae] m F pro, prae, pre, pra

G ŭs, ūscon/cun

[ous] bref/long[kon/koun]

e s

ARG areus

GP comperi

H vĭs , vīs [wis] sme OH ovis, EH levis, HG visus

I ĭ, ī y

[i] bref/long[y] consonant

m AIR a ire

II li [li] m AM altum

L mŭm, ūm

[m][oum] brief/long

e AL anum

M ltum [l’toum] e 8AM saltum

N ium [ioum] e 8AN sanium

O ŏ / ō ho

[o] bref / [o] long[ho]

sme OD hospitalis

P per [per] se P per, OP opere

R r [r], [re] sme AR are, OR ore, RARG rarus

S circ, circum [kirk/kirkoum] sm SC8G circumcisus

T contra [kontra] sm TCG contractus

c / a ct [k’t] m FcG precatus

d ti [t’i] m Pd8 peritis

2 in [in] se 2GEG in usualius

8 s [s] sm 8AL sa(l/n)um

Table 1 : Proto-coding table of the Voynich’s manuscript

3 Only the Voynich’s letters for which we have identified a phonetic sense are listed in this column.4 SME to specify if the phoneme is present at the (S) start, (M) middle, (E) end of the word.


Linguistic explanations

Structure of the Sentences

The sentences of the manuscript have multiple structures. We find the simple sentenceor "independent proposition" related to any other proposition, it can be a verbal sentenceor a nominal sentence. Compound or even complex sentences are also present and cantherefore contain independent, coordinated or juxtaposed propositions. The verbalpropositions identified in the manuscript express the tenses of the present, of the perfectand of the imperative, to the passive and active forms.

Voynich's propositions show a point of difficulty. They are divided into blocks5 ofwords called Voynich’s words6. However, as there is no punctuation and the sentencecan be extended in several lines, the reader will be confronted with the difficulty to findthe syntax and the semantic of each sentence.

Grammar Cases

The assembling of words in blocks impacts directly the use of the Latin grammaticalcases by omitting sometimes one of them. In abbreviated Latin, it is a common process,it uses distinctive signs placed in superscript to specify the grammatical case. In theVoynich's manuscript these indicators are absent. This absence implies that the wordsmust sometimes be broken down by the reader and obliges the reader to exert a

consistent effort to unambiguously translate the abbreviated text. For example, OD for

“hospitalis” is unified in the nominal group ODAL, so that “hospitalis” must be granted

by the reader to the correct grammatical case.

Extracting Words

The word is circumscribed with spaces but it is also terminated or triggered by the large

letters D F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 , so: the block OHCC8G will be read in two words. The first word

will be OH, the big letter ending here this word and introducing the second word CC8G.

In the following case, the big letter will act as a break in the TCFcG group, splitting

this group in two words: TC and FcG

5 For example, the sentence "This is not possible; this is not French. "Is transformed into" Thisisnotpossible thisisnotFrench."

6 OEDG OHAESC8G F H P S 2 contains two verbal propositions composed of five Latin words.


Lexicon

The author uses his own dictionary of knowledge to select the words of the manuscript.This dictionary or lexicon is based on a grammatical simplification of the Latin. It couldbe the result of the linguistic movement from Latin to Proto-Italian and Romancelanguages, but could be more likely the use of an abbreviation system.

The author translates the words of his lexicon, from the Latin to Voynich, according tothe Zipf's law. He selects them preferably according to their frequency and theirphonetic proximity. In the sense that the author focuses on the dominant phonemes ofthe word and then, by sorting, selects the shortest word with the "code + phonetic"7

characteristics. Thus, the author develops a minimal effort to code the most appropriateword.

Although this method allows a fast writing, as is the brachygraphy, it shows limits in itsreading. The reader does not necessarily share the same lexical culture, and because ofthis, the choice of the word obeying a structure "code + phonetics "may be competingwith other words in the reader's lexicon. The ambiguity becomes all the more importantthat the reader will attempt to read the manuscript from a lexicon of “classical” Latin,sometimes too distant from the cultural and linguistic context of medieval Latin.

The second consequence of such a system is that this system traps the author byinexorably leading to a use of the most easily accessible abbreviations, in his lexicon,and thus to create a redundancy in the use of the same words, not translating not thesame thought, increasing polysemy and thus reducing the apparent diversity ofvocabulary used.

7 This method gives a statistical behavior to the text as if it were a consonantal text.


Decrypting the first line - f66r

The first attempt at a decryption was to consider P8AM as “per-savium”, but the

grammatical case did not match8. We then remembered that we had been questioned bya latinist who reacted spontaneously to another formulation: "per saltum". In projectingthis idea on the proto-dictionary of the manuscript, we felt that this could be a solution.

Extract From the First Line of Folio f66r

The second point that guided our analysis is that the TCFTG form had to reveal the

use of the letter F because it was placed at the center of this word, framed by two

"contra *", and had to be able to bind the other two contexts. Having used manycombinations, none giving results, it was necessary to go to the evidence that anadditional distinction had to exist between these two "contra *".

The radicals of the words framing the letter F are and . We find that at first

glance these are similar. However, the second word differs in its more vertical and lesscurved form than in the first word. Later in this same sentence, we also notice the form

. However, the discretization of these forms in the Voynich’s alphabet is only

represented by "T". In fact, these three cases placed on the same line would mean

different abbreviations: would be the abbreviated form identified by "T" for

"cc", would show that the second sign would be a "t" and thus form "ct", the last

abbreviation would be "ti" with an "i" as the second letter.

The decryption of the first line of the folio f66r says that the author is in the narration ofan event confronting him with a suffering person. He says :

"The believer was contracted in all directions during a spasmFighting against tremors

On the other hand, I learned prayers to diminish them (tremors)I learned on the contrary (certainly) to block them

Exhale the scent in front of the guest experts from northern ItalySurround! like yellow bugle9 on the way ... "

8 Although the hypothesis of “latinus grossus” would have consolidated us in this way by accepting itas a linguistic "sprain". But also, the translation of “savium” into "salts" could have elegantlymatched with the little pots drawn at the bottom left of the same folio, which could have contained"salts" for medical use, for example.

9 Ajuga chamaepitys.


The corresponding grammatical analysis is presented in the table below, sentence bysentence, by Voynich’s word.

P 8AM OH CC8Gpēr sāltŭm ōvīs quoquovērsus

prep.10 + a. a.s. perf. n.s. adv.

The believer was contracted in all directions during a spasm

OP T C8Gŏpĕrĕ cōntrā quāssūs

abl.s. prep. + a. a.p.

Fighting against tremors

T GP TC FcGcōntrā Cōmpĕrī cōntrāct(ī) precatus

adv. 1.per.s. perf.ind.active n.p. v.passive a.p.

On the other hand, I learned prayers to diminish them (tremors)

S88G GP TCRcīrcūmsēssūs Cōmpĕrī cōntrā quīn

n.s. parf. 1.per.s. perf.ind.active prep.+a.

I learned on the contrary (certainly) to block them

T OE Pd8 OD CAE2cōntrā ŏlē pĕrītĭs hōspĭtālīs cisālpin(ī)

adv. 2.per.s. imper.active d.p. a.p. g.s.

Exhale the scent in front of the guest experts from northern Italy

2AIR SC D CGĭn a īrĕ cīrcŭmĭtĕ tālīs tūs

prep.+abl. 2.per.p. imper.active g.s. a.s.11

Surround! like yellow bugle on the way ...

Table 2 : Decoding the first line of folio f66r

10 From the Latin grammar : accusative(a), ablative(abl), dative(d), nominative(n), singular(s), plural(p),person(n°.per), present(pr), imperative(imper), perfect(perf), indicative(ind), adverb(adv), voice(v),preposition(prep), supine(sup)

11 An alternative of CG would be “cuius”.


Decryption of the frieze - f80rThe decryption of the folio f80r frieze shows that the author stages and gives the floorto the characters.

The corresponding grammatical analysis is presented in the table below, sentence bysentence, by Voynich’s word.

OR OEO OE T8Gōrĕ ŏlĕō ŏlē cōntrusus

abl.s.10 1.per.s.pr.ind.active 2.per.s. imper.active n.s. perf.

I exhale a scent by the mouth Exhale the scent having been pushed with force!

OD AEG OD OEOhōspĭtālĭs alus hōspĭtālĭs ŏlĕō

d.s. n.s. g.s 1.per.s.pr.ind.active

The guest’s big comfrey I exhale a welcoming scent

OD ARG OP ORhōspĭtālĭs arēus ŏpĕrĕ ōrĕ

d.s. n.s. abl.s. abl.s.

The guest’s genus arum [Set] to work by the mouth

OE DG OHAE SC8Gŏlē tālĭŭs ōvīs ălĕ cīrcūmcisus

2.per.s. imper.active a.s. n.s. / a.p. n.s.perf.

Exhale such a scent! The believer cut the garlic

OD AR OD ALhōspĭtālĭs are hōspĭtālĭs ănŭm

d.s n.s. n.s. a.s.

The guest’s genus arum The guest is an old woman

Table 3 : Decoding the f80r frieze labels


Decryption of two writing systems - f66rThe bottom down of the folio f66r contains an elongated person and surrounded by twoparticularly interesting texts because apparently not belonging to the same language.

At the top of this person, a sentence written in Voynich.

A second language at the left of this person.

The sentence written in Voynich

This sentence has often challenged the cryptologists. For the Dr. Levitov, this sentencewas to be a Franco-German mixture "ailvia tem vilteh the deesviseth" that he translated"when one is a sick as he is, he wants to know death". This result is understandable bythe status of this person but reveals the methodological danger to be influenced by thedrawings to interpret the Voynich’s text. Let's review this sentence in order to bring it atranslation in accordance with the coding table and the previously identified linguisticrules.

OHTCO 8AM THG GDC 2 TCG F H P S 2 F H P S 2 F H P S 2 (t)2 TCG F H P S 2 12

Let us first remark that in this sentence a particular letter "t" does not belong to the

Voynich’s alphabet. It is placed after the "C" to form and represent the notation

"c.t.". This Latin abbreviation means the abbreviated Latin "certum tempus" (see

12 The last letter is an "8" corrected in "G". It should be noted that at this level of analysis, it isnecessary to work directly on the folios of the manuscript. Computer discretization has introduced

errors in the actual value of the letters : confusion between "C" and "I", between "O" and "A" and

between "2" and "R" to name only the most obvious.


Bulletin ARCSI 2017 - decryption of the folio f116v) that the author should have noted

and no . This clue tends to show that he mastered the art of the Latinabbreviations, but in a lapse of time, like the author of the folio f116v, he wrote

mechanically to shorten "certum tempus". What does the decryption of thesentence accompanying the elongated person in the folio f66r tell us?

"I manage a sudden leap of the believer by fighting against appearances(symptoms) and to restrain contractions for a certain time. "

It says that the author is in the narration of an event confronting him with a sufferingperson and whose meaning is related to the decryption of the first sentence of the samefolio.The corresponding grammatical analysis is presented in the table below, sentence bysentence, by Voynich’s word.

OH TCO 8AM T HG GD a2 TCGōvī(s) cōntrāctō sāltŭm cōntrā vīsŭs cōntēntīs cērtūm tēmpŭs

ĭncōntrāctŭs

d.s.10 1.per.s.pr.ind.active a.s. prep.+a. a.p. d.p.perf.sup. prep. + a. a.p.

I manage a sudden leap of the believer by fighting against appearances (symptoms)and to restrain contractions for a certain time.

Table 4 : 1st writing system - Decoding the Voynich’s labels of the f66r

We find that the enigma of the abnormal redundancies of words and of propositions canbe explained by the polysemy of the Latin words. The sentence will find all its meaning

in the grammatical cases applied to its words. Comparing the use of 8AM in the context

of the first sentence of the folio f66r with its use in the context of the sentence above,we obtain two possible translations because the former expresses a past perfect of theverb and the second expresses a name to the accusative singular.

The Cross Written in Latin

The folio f66r contains another annotation located at the bottom left of the folio. Thisannotation is written with an alphabet other than that of Voynich. Having worked onand decoded folio f116v, the last written page of the manuscript, we have seensimilarities between the morphology of the abbreviations of the folio f116v and those ofthe letters in this annotation. The consistency and color of the ink reinforce the idea thatthese two writings are the works of the same author. This observation tends to provethat this annotation is posterior to the Voynich's manuscript and contemporary to thefolio f116v.


Vide / Versus“Look (in this direction)”

Renuntiando"To have told the story"

Miscere / Mistura VestraBeatitudo

"Join your happiness"

Relicta / Relegit"Abandon / read again"

Table 4 : 2nd writing system - Decoding the abbreviated Latin of f66r

The annotation in question is arranged in a cross. At the top of this cross, we find the

letter . It is used in the Latin abbreviated system of the15th century to mean “vide”

or “versus”. The other words on this cross contain letters from the folio f116v. What are

they ? In the word , the letters are "Rel" to abbreviate the Latin word “relicta” or

“relegit”. The letters "mvB" constituting the abbreviation and whose

developed form is “misce vestra beatitudo”. Then, in , the letters are "Ren" to

abbreviate “Renuntiando”.


Herbarium - Plants Potentially SolutionsThe herbarium contains drawings of plants not definitely identified. It is suspected thatthese representations may contain a "hidden" meaning related to a kind of esotericism.For all that, and concerning the questioning of the accuracy of these sketches, we know,and Pliny had already remarked, that painting was often misleading because it issometimes difficult to faithfully reproduce a color. What do we also know about theexact conditions in which the author made his drawings, knowing that it was commonfor a sketch to be made on the basis of a dry plant sent from a collection or conservationsite and that, contracted and curled up by desiccation, the dried plant, maceration in coldwater, could take up some fragments and the form it had alive?

ALUS ALIUM TUS

ARUM MACULATUM ARUM ITALICUM


The decrypted text, meanwhile, reveals the name of plants and bulbs in a rather medicalcontext. We propose below their brief descriptions with the aim of starting to build thelink between the medical use of these plants and the Voynich's text.

Arum – genus arum

This very toxic plant was used in medicine as an expectorant, purgative, antirheumatic,and against respiratory affections, coughs, catarrhs, rheumatism and hemorrhoids.Otherwise used in white magic, it was known to repel evil spirits.

Alus - Great Comfrey

Its medicinal use has been known for a long time. Its comfrey name means "helping toweld" fractures. For the Greek Dioscoride, who was a military doctor in a Romanlegion, the comfrey was a wonderful remedy. It contains allantoin, a substance thatstimulates cell multiplication, accelerates healing, and, acting as a bacterial inhibitor,slows the growth of bacteria until they are destroyed. In external use, it is used againstvaricose ulcers, warts and other skin disorders such as the treatment of nipple burns andcrevices. In internal use, it relieves some arthritic pain and seems to bring about amuscular relaxation, acting on the central nervous system.

Alium - Garlic

Wild garlic or "garlic of the bears" possessed magical powers. The pregnant womenkept in their pockets to protect the unborn child, it was also thrown in the rivers topurify the water. In the Middle Ages existed a ritual inherited from Hippocratesmedicine and Egyptian medical papyri which consisted of inserting a fragrant bulb intothe vagina to find out if a woman was or was not pregnant. Indeed, the belief was that ifthe uterus were open then the smell of the bulb inserted should come out through themouth and thus announce that the woman was pregnant. In the opposite case, where theuterus was closed, then the odor could not go up to the mouth and thus confirmed thatthe woman was not pregnant.

Tus - Yellow Bugle

It is a plant with a strong odor. Pliny the Elder describes it in its Naturalis Historia asbeing suitable for healing wounds and colic. It is traditionally used against gout andrheumatism. It would be diuretic and emmenagogue, that is, able to provoke or regulatethe menstrual cycle.


Proto-dictionary2 In - in D Talis - so great, so excellent

2AE2 Inalpine - located in the Alps DG Talius / Talibus - so big, so good

2AIR In a ire - on the way EH Levis - light, agile, smooth, hard sounds

2G Inus – Cadmus and Harmonie's daughter,Athamas' wife, king of Thebes

FcG Precatus - spasm

2GEG Inconsultus - rash, misguided, thoughtless, inconsiderate; did not ask or consulted; in usualius - in the ordinary

GD Contentis - to restrain

8 Se - him, oneself, she, them, themselves, each other

GP Comperi - to learn, to be informed of, to come to know, to perish together

8AIIR Saltator - dance, dance performance HG Visus - visit, view, vision, appearance

8AIR Salire – spasm, eject under the force of a fluid

O8AIR Australior - from the south; brought by the south wind, southern hemisphere

8AL Sa (l / n) um: sanum - healthy; sensitive. Salum - salt, finesse of spirit, OD Hospitalis - hospital, guest

8AM Saltum - spasms, throat OE Ole - smell like, exhale an odor of

8AR Sare - him, oneself, she, them, themselves, each other

OEO Oleo - cf. OE

8ARG Sarus - Cappadocia River OH Ovis - faithful, believer

A A - to, from, after, by, against OP Opere - work

a2 Certum tempus in - for a while OR Ore - mouth

AE Ale - garlic OROR Oror - beg, ask, pray, invoke, worship

AEG Alus - great comfrey P Per - for, through

AIL Alum - garlic Pd8 Peritis - experienced, who is expert

AL Anum - old, elderly woman RARG Rarus - rare, thin, little

AM Altum - cherish, deep, noble, obscure S Circe - circle, circum - in circle

AR Aer - Smell, air, Are - genus arum S88G Circumsessus - send on a mission

ARG Areus - genus arum, cuckoo-pint from Italy

SC Circumite - deceive to get something, circumvent, go around, visit successively, go from one end to the other

C2 Quin - how / why do not ..? SC8G Circumcisus - riddled, pruned

C8AE2 Cisalpine - Northern Italy T Contra - against, on the contrary, on

C8G Quassus - trembling TC Contracts - gather, gather, converge in one point, crisper

CC Quoque - really TCG Contractus - contractions

CC8AR Quoque sare - really oneself TCO Contracto - laying a hand on, caressing

CC8G Quoquoversus - in all directions (movement)

TG Contrusus - a crowd, put pressure

CG Tus - incense, yellow bugle


Conclusion

The Voynich's manuscript was understandable in its time, the author told us inhis notes left at the conclusion of the manuscript, in the folio 116v. We have discoveredthat this same author has written in other places in the manuscript, especially in foliof66r. He also told us that we were in the presence of an asceticism practice, allowingprogress in the spiritual field. We can say for certain that this practice was alsoassociated with the medical and the herbalism fields.

We learn that the author of the manuscript was, in contact with "guests" from northernItaly, in an area endemic to yellow bugle. Thus, we could almost deduce that it was inthe Mediterranean region at an altitude between that of the sea and that of the middlemountain, and by exclusion, in a region other than that of northern Italy.

As for the process, it does not currently reveal any use of Lullian language orsyllogisms. However, some letters remain encrypted and could be the source of ademonstrative logical expression that remains to be demonstrated.

We see it today. At this stage of our analysis we can confirm that the author of theVoynich wrote, in Latin, using a list of Latin abbreviations combined with the use of alist of phonemes. The consequence of this method being that, at first analysis, the textappeared to us consonantal.

It is not yet certain that it constitutes a handwritten work in "latinus grossus",contemporary with the burlesque poem "Macaronea" by Tifi Odasi whose text mixesLatin with Italian dialects Tuscan and Venetian. Some "missing" endings are more theresult of the use of abbreviations than of a drift of the Latin. However, let us beware ofany definite conclusion before being assured by a complete decipherment of themanuscript.

Antoine CASANOVA


Références

[1] Raymond LULLE, ars magna, 1277.

[2] Antoine CASANOVA, Thèse de doctorat, Université PARIS 8 (France), Méthoded’analyse du langage crypté : Une contribution à l’étude du manuscrit de Voynich,Paris, 1999.

[3] Antoine CASANOVA, Les codes informels - Éléments de lecture du manuscrit deVoynich, Bulletin de l’ARCSI, 2016.

[4] Antoine CASANOVA, Les codes formels - Éléments de décryptage du manuscrit deVoynich, Bulletin de l’ARCSI, 2017.

[5] A. CAPPELLI, Lericon Abbreviaturarum, Dizionario di Abbreviature latine editaliane, Settima edizione 2011.

[6] Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, Domino Du Cange, 1883.

[7] Berhnard BISCHOFF, Paléographie de l’antiquité Romaine et du Moyen-Âgeoccidental, Grands manuels Picard, 1985

[8] Jacques STIENNON, Paléographie du Moyen-Âge, Armand Colin, 1999.

[9] Henri OMONT, Dictionnaire d'abréviations latines publié à Brescia en 1534,Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes, 1902, tome 63.

[10] Arnaud BAUDIN & Laurent MORELLE, Les pratiques de l’écrit dans les abbayesCisterciennes (XIIème – milieu du XVIème siècle), Actes du colloque international,Troyes-Abbaye de Clairvaux, 28-30 octobre 2015

[11] Giorgio Bernardi PERINI. 2001. Macaronica verba. Il divenire di una trasgressionelinguistica nel seno dell’Umanesimo, In Integrazione, mescolanza, rifiuto. Incontri dipopoli, lingue e culture in Europa dall’Antichita’ all’Umanesimo, ed. Gianpaolo Urso,Roma, L’Erma di Bretschneider, p. 327–336

[12] Jean-Baptiste SAINT-LAGER, Histoire des Herbiers, Publications de la SociétéLinnéenne de Lyon, Notes et Mémoires, 1885


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